Selena for Sanctuary is the perfect antidote for times like these when we all need comfort and inspiration to keep going.

Selena

Selena Quintanailla-Pérez (1971 – 1995) was a Mexican – American singer from Texas who inspired a generation with her music, courage and style in the 1980s and 90s.

Selena started performing when she was just ten years old. She sang Tejano, the polka-influenced music of Texas and northern Mexico. That was courageous because women didn’t sing Tejano in those days. When she started out, Selena didn’t speak Spanish, so she learned to sing phonetically. She later became fluent.

Selena was basically a good kid, but liked to dress provocatively. That earned her the nickname “The Latina Madonna.”

Female Vocalist of the Year

Selena won hearts all over Texas. Her career took off when she won the Tejano Music Award for “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 1987.

Entre a Mi Mundo

Selena’s second album (1992) was her breakthrough. It hit #1 on the Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart. The single Como la Flor became her signature song.

Selena Live!

Selena’s 1993 live album won a 1994 Grammy Award for “Best Mexican/American Album.

Amor Prohibido

Selena’s 1994 album became one of the best-selling Latin albums in the United States, and won another Grammy. It pushed Tejano music into the mainstream.

Today Regional Mexican (the broad category of this music) is the most popular Latin music in the United States.

The album’s title “Forbidden Love” refers to her relationship and marriage to her lead guitarist Chris Pérez, against the wishes of her family.

A Tragic Ending Puts a Star in the Sky

Selena was murdered in 1995 by one of her assistants who had been stealing from her fan club. It happened just as Selena was working to crossover with her first album in English.

What is so inspiring about Selena is that she broke through barriers and showed us that the impossible is in fact possible.

Mon Laferte

Mon Laferte is a Chilean singer-songwriter.

Cuco

Cuco is a young Mexican – American pop singer from Hawthorne, California. He is just 19, but already has a successful career.

Gaby Moreno

Gaby Moreno is a Latin pop singer-songwriter with a sweet voice originally from Guatemala City, Guatemala. On a visit to New York City, she fell in love with the blues. She won a Latin Grammy for “Best New Artist” in 2013.

Moreno sings in both English and Spanish. She calls her style “Spanglish Folk Soul.”

Nina Diaz

Nina Diaz is a Mexican – American rocker from San Antonio, Texas. She grew up listening to Selena, but like Selena didn’t speak Spanish at first.

Diaz first drew attention with the band Girl in a Coma which was promoted by 1980s rocker Joan Jett (The Runaways).